Collapsible wading pool



Oct. 16, 1956 Filed 0G12. 14, 1954 f l 'l W- Z. NORMAN ET' AL COLLAPSIBLE WADING POOL 2 Sheets-Sheet l Oct. 16, 1956 w. z. NORMAN ET AL 2,766,462

coLLAPsIBLE WADING Poor.

Filed Oct. 14. 1954 V 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 2,766,462 Patented Oct. 16, 1956 COLLAPSIBLE WADING I OOLy Application October 14, 1954, 'Seriali No. 462,292 1 Claim. (Cl. tt-172) The present invention relates to wading pools and particularly to a wading pool which is collapsible, that is, which can be collapsed for storage in a very short time and without the use of tools.

More particularly still the invention relates 'to such a collapsible wading pool which has the full liquid capacity consonant with its overall dimensions as contrasted with being of a capacity limited by the construction of the corners as is presently the case.

At the present time fabric wading pools are available and some of these pools are stated to be collapsible. However, these pools are not collapsible in any true sense of the word although they may be disassembled by the use of hand tools and in a period of time which ranges from an hour' upwardly. The pool of the present invention is, on the contrary, collapsible without the use of tools in a period of time not in excess of one minute.

Additionally, present fabric wading pools are'so constructed that the fabric material is tucked at the corners 'and lies at a level beneath the level of the other portions of thefabric so that the capacity of the pool is some inches less thany is indicated by the portions of the side walls.

It is customary in the construction of wading pools to provide seats across the corners lof the -framework which supports the fabric.I The wading pool of the instant'invention provides such seats `butwhereas, in the past, the'seats have been fastened to theframeworkl by means of screws or similar fastening means, the seats of the instant pool are'A provided with locking means which render them readily placed in. position and as readily removed. When in position they are securely locked and serve to impart rigidity to the entire framework.y

It is an object'of the invention to vprovide a wading pool which is truly collapsible in a minimum time and without tools.

It is another object of the invention to provide such a collapsible wading pool having the volume indicated by its overall dimensions so that the water level therein will be substantially that of the highest portion of the supporting framework.

It is a still further object of the invention to provide such a collapsible wading pool which when erected is rigid.

It is a further object of the invention to provide such a rigid wading pool having seats located at the four corners thereof and having means built into these seats to lock them to the pool framework and thereby imp-art rigidity to that framework.

Other objects and features of the invention will be apparent when the following description is considered in connection with the annexed drawings, in which,

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the wading pool in its erected state;

Figure 2 is a fragmentary top plan view showing one corner of the pool of Figure 1 and illustrating particuuarly the manner of locking a corner seat to the tubular framework;

height of the major Figure 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view further illustrating the mode of locking a seat to the tubular framework. This view is taken on the plane of the line 3-3 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a side elevation of one of the corners of the wading pool of Figure 1 showing particularly the means of supporting the fabric pool on the framework and the means for clamping adjoining sections of the framework together;

Figure 5 is a bottom plan view of the corner portion of Figure 4 partly broken away and showing the corner seat locked to the framework;

Figure 6 is a vertical cross-sectional view taken on the plane of the line 6 6 of Figure 5 further illustrating the seat locking means;

Figure 7 is a detailed cross-sectional View taken on the plane of the line 7 7 of Figure 4, showing the meansk for clamping the vertical portions of adjoining frame sections together;

Figure 8 is a detailed view of the housing for the seat clamping means; and

Figure 9 is a perspective view of the wading pool i'nits collapsed condition.

Referring now to the drawings and particularly to Figure 1, there is shown therein a fabric wading pool 10 having a generally rectangular bottom 11 and upstanding side walls 12. -The corners of the bottom 11 are cutoff as indicated at 13 and a side wall portion 14 provided `being attached to or integral with the base and being joined to the adjacent side wall'portions 12. The fabric pool thus formed is supported on a framework which -comprises the four tubular members 15, each of which is bent into the form of an inverted U thus forming the leg portions indicated at 16.

At each of the corners of the wading pool a'seat 17 is provided, this seat being mounted upon the adjacent portions of two members 15 and locked thereto in manner which will be described hereinafter.

The uppermost edges of the sidewall portions 12 and 14 of the pool 10 are folded over and' stitched along line 18V forming a loop of material through 'which the horizontal .portions of the frame members-15 extend. An opening is formed in the hemmed portion of the fabric at the point of juncture of the main side walls 12 with the corner portions 14 and an additional reenforcing strip 20 is secured to the folded over portions ofthe body material, this reenforcing stri-p being likewise providedv with an opening at each end thereof and extending across the vup'perpfartof theside walls 14. VBy virtueof the provision of the openings in the foldedroverportion ofithe side walls as stated the corner side wall portions 14 are -maintained at the same height as the main side walls 12 and therefore the wading pool will have the full capacity indicated by the height of the frame members 15 rather than a lesser capacity as is the case when the portion across the corner is constructed so that it is at a considerably lesser height than the side portions. j

As is seen particularly in Figure 4, adjacent vertically extending portions or legs 16 of the frame members 15 are provided with feet 21 which are Siamese feet, that is, are made as a single piece, for example, by plastic molding. Additionally, the legs 16 are grooved circumferentially adjacent the upper ends of the vertical portions thereof and a clamp composed of the members 22 and 23, Figure 7, is placed about the two legs and clamped in position by means of the screw 24 and wing nut 25. It will be seen that the screw 24 lies in the adjacent circumferential grooves of the two legs thus preventing the clamp from sliding downwardly along the legs and retaining it in the desired position.

Seats 17 extend across the corners and orverlie the upper edges of the corner side wall portions 14. These seats, in addition to se'rving their function as seats, also lock to the frame members in such a manner as to increase the rigidity of the structure. At the same time the locking arrangement is such that no tools are required to place the seats inposition or to lock them.

Each seat is formed of a generally triangular metal sheet 26 having the bent-over edges '27 which bent-over edges conform in radius to the radius of the tubular frame members 15. Additionally, as seen particularly in Figure 5, the inner edge of the triangular plate 26 is curled over as indicated at 28 for the major portion of its length, the curled over edge being omitted adjacent the ends thereby providing for positioning the seat correctly against the frame members 15. The curled over edge 28 forms a smooth surface which extends downwardly on the inner side of the fabric body and therefore protects that body against tearing.

Fixed to the lower surface of the plate 26 is a housing 30 formed of sheet metal and consisting of the horimntal plate 31 and the generally vertically extending portions 32. The portions 31 and 32 are provided with slotted openings such as those indicated at 33 and a slidable member 34 is mounted in the two opposite openings, a second member 35 being mounted in the remaining openings this member being connected to or integral with the member 34.

Member 35 is provided with downwardly extending tabs 36 which act as finger pieces to operate the slide 35, 36. As will be clearly seen from Figures 3 and 5 when the slide 34 is moved toward the juncture of the legs 16, the ends thereof engage the undersurface of horizontal portions of the frame members 15 and lock the seat securely thereto. When the slide 34 is moved in the opposite direction the ends thereof clear the frame members 15 and the seat may be readily removed. Since the slide member 34 is spaced from the lower side of the seat the same distance as the outside diameter of the tubular frame members 15, it will be clear that the locking action clamps members 15 rigidly to the undersurface of the seat thus enhancing the rigidity of the entire structure.

If desired a light spring such as has been shown at 37 may be stretched between a point on the slide 34, 35 and one of the side walls 32 of the housing 30. This spring is insufficient in strength to unlock the seat from the frame members but is suicient to hold the slide 34, 35 in its unlocked position when not in use so that it may be placed in position at any time without the necessity of moving the slides to their unlocked position.

By merely loosening the wing nut 25 the framework may be folded so that the members thereof lie parallel to each other and the entire pool quickly collapsed with its parts connected so that it may safely be stored wit-hout fear of loss of parts.

As will be clear from the above the wading pool dcscribed is readily collapsed and readily erected. Additionally the pool is rendered rigid `by the use of the triangular corner seats which are easily locked in place and which, when in place, prevent those using the pool from inadvertently or otherwise placing weight upon the relatively unsupported edge of the corner wall, and thus prevents damage to the fabric or egress of water from the pool. Moreovery the use Of a reenforcing strip on the upper portion of the corner walls strengthens the fabric at this point and provides a corner wall portion which extends to the same height as the side wall portions of the pool assuring that the vfull enclosed volume can be utilized.

While we have described a preferred embodiment of our invention, it will be understood that we wish to be limited not lby the foregoing description, but solely by the claim granted to us.

What is claimed is:

In a collapsible wading pool, in combination, a generally rectangular fabric comprising a base and side walls, said side walls having the upper portions folded over to form a hem, the corner portions of said base extending diagonally between adjacent sides, said side walls having corresponding diagonally extending portions, said folded over portions of said side walls being reenforced along the upper edge of said diagonal portions, openings in the folded over portions of said side walls at the juncture of said main side wall portions and said diagonally extending side wall portions, a framework comprising four generally inverted U-shaped members, each said member extending through said openings, at opposite ends of said turned-over portions of one of said main side walls, and through the folded over portion of the intervening side wall, seats formed of sheet metal, said metal being triangular in shape and being bent along two adjacent sides to conform to ythe radius of said frame members, and means for locking said seats to said frames, said locking means comprising a member supported beneath said seat, said member being slidable in a direction perpendicular to the third side of said triangular seat, the ends of said frame member lying in a plane immediately beneath said frame members whereby movement of said slide toward the corner of the wading pool locks the seat in place and movement of the slide away from said corner unlocks the seat so that it may be removed.

Switzerland June 1, 1951 France Feb. l5, 1950 

